Invitational ended on a high note, a classic game

Saturday proved to be a wonderful finale for the Greene County Invitational.
Linton won the invitational title by beating Bloomfield 52-44 in a whang-dang-doodle of a game that wasn’t decided until the final minute. Kyler Hudson was called for charging with 50.0 ticks on the clock, a foul that canceled a bucket that would have made the score 46-44. Evan Slover fed Tucker Hayes for a layup and Linton led 48-42 and the Miners had won their fourth straight invitational.
Both teams played very well. The Miners showed why they’re difficult to beat: seven players scored between five to 12 points each. It’s tough to stop a team on which every player can score.
Bloomfield received a great performance from Isaac Combs, a double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds. Combs got plenty of help from Turner Royal, Hudson, Tad Kapek, and the rest of the team.
That game was definitely one for the ages. I wonder what this Friday’s game between Bloomfield and Linton will be like.

We didn’t have room for it in Monday’s paper, but Terry Schwinghammer and I would like to present the All-Greene County Invitational Team picked by ourselves.
Team members are:
Isaac Combs of Bloomfield, Most Valuable Player
Kip Fougerousse, Linton
Lincoln Hale, Linton
Silas Robbins, Linton
Turner Royal, Bloomfield
Caleb Hamilton, Eastern
Lane Gilbert, Shakamak
Congratulations to all you gentlemen for a fine tournament.

The best cheerleader of the tournament may have been Eastern senior J.W. Howard. During the Eastern-Eminence, he jumped to his feet clapping hard every time an Eastern reserve made a good play.
That’s the way to promote team spirit.

I searched the internet to see if there were any items that would make for interesting tidbits for this column. The only one I found was a video of alligators sticking their snouts out of the ice on North Carolina’s rivers and swamps. It seems that’s the only way the critters can survive.
If you go to the Tarheel State, I recommend you avoid ice fishing and ice skating. The gators need a snack.